I'm used to writing about monsters--the creatures that can haunt our nightmares. But, for this book, the monster isn't a vampire or a demon. He's a serial killer. And, for me, it's those real-life monsters--those bad guys who *could* live down the street from you--well, those are the truly scary ones.

In DEADLY FEAR, my villain uses fear to torture his prey. He makes them face their worst fears, and they usually don't survive that face-off.

Do you have any deep, dark fears? Or perhaps some not-so-dark fears? Tell me about them. I'll pick one commenter to win an Cynthia Eden book of her/his choice.

And, in case you were curious about DEADLY FEAR, here's the blurb for the book:

TWO BRILLIANT AGENTS

FBI Special Agent Monica Davenport has made a career out of profiling serial killers. But getting inside the twisted minds of the cruel and the sadistic has taken its toll: She’s walled herself off from the world. Yet Monica can’t ignore fellow agent Luke Dante, the only man who ever broke through her defenses.

ONE DREAM TEAM

Luke has the unique ability to put victims at ease…professionally, he and Monica made a perfect team. Now they’re reunited to catch a murderer who uses his victims’ deepest, darkest fears for sport - but their investigative skills aren’t enough. Luke and Monica will have to face the secrets from their past, the ones that terrify them the most, if they are to have a future together.

20 comments:

I have a load of fears, but I think for every human that's natural. Some are there constantly: That I'll never accomplish what I want to do in life, make my family happy, be satisfied with myself -- but I'm working on them. :) Others of the deep, dark variety - maybe one day!

Now that Liz mentioned a burning house, that does sound scary. Not one of my normal fears though. My dog was bitten by another dog a few years ago while I was walking her. A chocolate lab, which are usually friendly dogs. This one was unleashed and ran across the street and bit her. There was a lot of blood. Now when we're walking and I see another dog, I freak out a little.

Hi, Liz! Thank you! I so love this cover. I am so sorry to hear about your sibling. I've got a terrible fear of fires, too. Several members of my family are fire-fighters and I just don't think I could ever do what they do!

Hey, Edie! Liz scared me, too! And, wow, I'd be nervous when I saw another dog after that experience.

Donnas, the second book in my Deadly series focuses on an arsonist, and while I was doing research for that book, I was really rattled when I learned about the number of fire related deaths each year. Turns out my state (Alabama) has a shockingly high number!

I am afraid of heights, swimming in the ocean (thank you so much, Jaws), and staying alone at my grandmother's house. Everything creaks, the trees brush up against the windows, and she lives 5 miles from her nearest neighbor. My imagination is just too good, and I lay awake all night with the lights on.

I don't like swimming in the ocean much, I went out too far once as a child and had someone help me get back to shore - that was really scary. I have a fear of heights, when I get too high, I start thinking about falling. Congrats on your new cover, it's outstanding.

Hi, Cynthia! I can't wait for the release of "Deadly Fear"! It sounds great!

I have had a lifelong fear of fluttering, swooping birds. It goes back to some scare in my childhood. The odd thing is, I once worked for a business where the owner kept a parrot caged in the office. I trained myself to allow the parrot to perch on my hand. I talked to it, fed it, and cleaned its cage. The bird became very attached to me. He knew my footsteps, and he would let everyone know when I was getting ready to come through the door!

Fears, who doesn't have them? I think my biggest fear is losing my family or my best friend. They are such a big part of me, without them well i don't know how some people do it. Losing them, would literally kill me. Another fear is someone waiting in my bedroom to kill me. It doesn't help that my brother used to hide in my closet and wait until i was asleep before he jumped out. Joy, of family. Can't live with them, but you sure can't live without them.